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An Unofficial Klipsch Jubilee Buyer's Guide


Chris A

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Note (24 April 2021):  This thread has been overcome by events (OBE).  I do not currently recommend spending much time in this thread (created by myself), as the supply of the loudspeakers found here has been discontinued by Klipsch. 

 

I have elected to leave the information in this thread intact for the benefit of those looking to buy used models of the Klipsch Professional version (two-way) for home hi-fi use.  The information here may be useful to those individuals, but there are apparently no "new" Jubilees of the version discussed here that are being manufactured by Klipsch, and those holding stock quantities of these loudspeakers have apparently sharply increased their prices of late.  This is unfortunate, but as they say, "all good things must pass", seems to apply in this case.  Please PM me if you have any questions.

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Some frequently-asked potential buyer questions (FAQs) for the home version Klipsch Jubilee:

 

1) What is a Jubilee?

 

The Klipsch Jubilee consists of a redesigned dual-mouth ("W" section) bass bin having horn expansion path in one axis (versus both the horizontal and vertical in the original Khorn bass bin), and the K-402 high frequency horn on top that uses a full-range 2" compression driver, thus bringing the Klipschorn design back to its original two-way design of the 1940s and '50s that its inventor wished it to be.  The crossover point is nominally 450-500 Hz. 

 

As sold by Klipsch, the two-way home version Jubilee was intended to be bi-amped using a DSP crossover, i.e., a "loudspeaker processor", for crossover and EQ balancing--the thin dark gray box on top of preamplifier in the photo below is one DSP crossover that is used with the Klipsch Jubilee. Third party passive crossovers are not supported by Klipsch, although there are passive schematics for the K-69-A compression driver and TAD TD-4002 compression driver (both drivers now discontinued).

 

Z-Jub-Becky.jpg

 

2) What's so special about the Jubilee?  Why should I consider buying them?

 

The Klipsch Jubilee was originally developed to be the replacement for the Klipschorn (corner horn).  Paul Klipsch intended to call it a "Klipschorn II", but its performance so exceeded the expectations of its inventor that the decision was made to call it the "Jubilee" in commemoration of the 50th year of the Klipschorn introduction to the marketplace in the mid-late 1940s.  The Klipschorn is the only known loudspeaker to be in continuous production for all of those 50 years.

 

Many that have heard Klipsch Jubilees consider them to be the finest loudspeaker that Klipsch produces.  If you hear them, you'll understand why.

 

The advantages of the Jubilee design over the original Klipschorn are:

 

  1. time alignment of the entire loudspeaker, leading to more neutral sounding loudspeakers overall without crossover interference band-induced timbre changes
  2. much better directivity vs. frequency of its acoustic output, leading to a huge soundstage image and very smooth sounding performance overall
  3. higher efficiency of both the bass bin and hf horn/driver due to the elimination of the passive crossover
  4. extremely low reactance load--direct connect to drivers to maximize driver damping
  5. much better frequency response flatness using the built-in equalizing filters in the DSP crossover to correct for the controlled directivity K-402 horn/driver and room response variances, especially in the midbass and below frequency bands

 

Some history of the Klipsch Jubilee design, its bass bin, and K-402 horn can also be found here:

 

3) How much does a Klipsch Jubilee cost?

 

The two-way Jubilees cost somewhat less than new Klipschorns. 

 

4) What product ordering options are available?

 

Klipsch provides a bass bin front panel veneer in a number of veneer choices.  The K-691 compression driver (rebranded B&C DE75) is the standard driver bundled with the two-way home version Jubilee.

 

5) Where can I hear a pair of Jubilees?

 

See the following thread:

6) Where can I buy a Jubilee?

 

The two-way (home hi-fi version) Jubilee can be ordered in the U.S. through @MetropolisLakeOutfitters --a Klipsch dealer.  Other dealers can be found through contacting Roy Delgado (roy.delgado@klipsch.com). 

 

7) Does Klipsch provide setup support?  If not, where can I get help?

 

Klipsch does not provide setup support for these loudspeakers.  Additional help can be obtained through Jubilee owners here on the Klipsch Forum.  Free help with getting them dialed-in using DSP crossover can be obtained through @Chris A via email support using Room EQ Wizard (REW) and your chosen DSP crossover.  It is recommended that you first consider using a Xilica crossover (XP or XD series) to facilitate the dialing-in tasks, although other DSP crossover types can also be used.  It is also recommended that you use a better quality DSP crossover than a miniDSP, Behringer, and the entry-level dbx Driverack.

 

8 ) What active crossovers are used?  What's recommended ? How do I program it? 

 

Several types of DSP crossovers have been used with the two-way home version Jubilee, including the older ElectroVoice Dx38 and its successor DC-One, Yamaha SP2060, Ashly Protea, Xilica XP series, and miniDSP 2x4 HD. If buying through MetropolisLakeOutfitters, preloading of Xilica XP processor settings developed by Roy Delgado of Klipsch is an option supported by the dealer.

 

9) How do I buy a Jubilee if I don't live in the U.S.?  What are my options?

 

Contact Roy Delgado (roy.delgado@klipsch.com) to discuss your options for international sales. Note that most Klipsch dealers do not often handle Klipsch Professional products (i.e., cinema).  Based on the history of difficulties getting the correct configuration for two-way home hi-fi operation, it is recommended to email Roy Delgado before contacting your local Klipsch dealer if you do not live and ship to the U.S.

 

Chris

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@Chris A as always thanks for your contributions to the community great breakdown of what to do. What do you think of adding a section of the jubilee changes? What I mean is didn't some of the jub LF cabs come with a 15" driver and not the dual 12's? Were they all plywood or mdf or both?

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As far as I know, all the KPT-KHJ-LF bass bins have used dual 12" drivers (originally K-31s).  All the early bass bins (like the ones I own) used the strut stiffeners:

 

22 sand2.jpg

 

...while later ones use the shelf-type configuration--done to improve manufacturability and reduce assembly time (according to Roy):

 

dan+jub+009.jpg

 

There have been one or two third party bass designs--not done by Klipsch that you might be referring to.  I'd like to keep this thread focused on the Jubilee rather than all other competing designs. 

 

As far as the K-402 horns, there have been three versions that I'm aware of:

  • the first one with a metal throat assembly (and the polymer material comprising the rest of the horn that softens and cracks when exposed to direct sunlight),
  • the second compression molded version made of ABS that weighs in at 25 pounds/horn, and
  • the current injection molded ABS version that weights in at 15 pounds. 

 

As far as I know, all three versions produce equal acoustic results.

 

There are many customizations that can be done DIY by the owners.  Mikebse2a3 (miketn) has modified his K-402s to enclose them, as shown in the pictures above and below, and has produced a full thickness front of zebrawood (IIRC) that hangs from the top of the bass bin and covers the center panel of the bass bin. 

Zebrawood Jubilee HF.jpg

 

Z-Jub-Frame-49.jpg

 

Kudret produced the first full box for his K-402s, looking very similar to the KPT-305 mid-bass modules before selling them years ago:

 

6.jpg

 

Many Jubilee owners have chosen to upgrade their 2" compression drivers.  The first round of upgrades were to incorporate the TAD TD-4002 beryllium diaphragm drivers (very expensive), but more recently, there have been FaitalPRO HF200s and HF20ATs, Radian 950PB (aluminum diaphragm) or Radian 950BePB (beryllium diaphragm), BMS 4592ND (dual ring radiator diaphragm), various JBL 2" drivers, etc.  The original K-69 driver (P.Audio BM-D750 series I) was replaced by the K-69-A (P.Audio BM-D750 series I with modified diaphragm-phase plug spacing), then more recently, back to the K-691 (a version of the B&C DE75 with a modification). 

 

EDIT (7 November 2021):  with the release of the Celestion Axi2050 "full range" 2 inch compression driver--that's currently used in the new replacement version of the Jubilee--there is yet another option for compression driver upgrades for the basic K-69-A or K-691 drivers that were shipped with the Professional version Jubilee (using the KPT-KHJ-LF bass bin):

There have been discussions of adding a nose on the front of the bass bins in order to complete the horn mouth closure--like that of a La Scala bass bin.  This would help broaden the bass bin polars on the high end near the crossover frequency to the K-402 horn and deepen the FC of the bass bin another few Hz.

 

The following picture of a Levan horn mouth extension for a similar type of W section bass bin is provided as a visual for the bass bin nose extension, with the added wide side panel wings of the Levan horn made necessary for the shown half-space loading of the picture.  These extended side panels would not be needed for the Jubilee bass bin in a room corner, rather short wings spanning edges of the two mouths and angled to intersect the adjacent walls would be enough:

 

Levan2.jpg

 

Chris

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On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 10:41 AM, Chris A said:

Additional help can be obtained through Jubilee owners here on the Klipsch Forum.  Free help with getting them dialed-in using DSP crossover can be obtained through @Chris A via email support using Room EQ Wizard (REW) and your chosen DSP crossover.

 

Klipsch forum members are the best technical support group in the entire audio world.

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On 4/12/2019 at 1:58 PM, codewritinfool said:

Thank you for this. I’ve already learned something. I never knew it was still possible to get new Jubilees.

That’s a dangerous thing!

You have to know the secret handshake:) While offering a six pack with the other hand:emotion-22:

But seriously @MetropolisLakeOutfitters is da man.

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Those Jubilee's are sweet, the one the OP posted, really nice.

 

I really like how they look and I bet they sound amazing but I'd personally never buy em since I'm not interested in dealing with external electronic crossovers and stuff like that.

 

Did they ever make an all passive Jubilee or is that not possible since these are 2 way?

 

How do they sound compared to KHorns and what kind of frequency response do you get out of them shipped from Klipsch?

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22 minutes ago, sixspeed said:

I really like how they look and I bet they sound amazing but I'd personally never buy em since I'm not interested in dealing with external electronic crossovers and stuff like that.

That's the easy part, plug them in and play, it's as easy as passive, nothing to "deal" with, the active control is all pre setup, just plug it in.

25 minutes ago, sixspeed said:

How do they sound compared to KHorns and what kind of frequency response do you get out of them shipped from Klipsch?

Better, haven't found anyone that thinks the other way. Frequency response is no different, it's all set up in the active crossover, some may have made some changes but that is with every speaker but your 99% there already from the factory.

30 minutes ago, sixspeed said:

Did they ever make an all passive Jubilee or is that not possible since these are 2 way?

They have some that made passive crossovers that's easy to find, but some also went back to active, it's easier for me, plug and play. It's not like you need to adjust anything in the active crossover, like some have said it's like adding salt and pepper if you want. 

 

Others will correct me if I am wrong but if I can plug this in and be happy with it anyone can. I am not a tinkerer, I just want music to sound great and this was easy, the only real difference was an extra amp and the active crossover and a few more cables. 

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